


Hollow Hearts

by judysharding



Category: Dead To Me (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/F, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24197908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/judysharding/pseuds/judysharding
Summary: Judy has always had something missing from her life. What happens when she meets someone at a grief group?
Relationships: Judy Hale/Jen Harding
Comments: 6
Kudos: 63





	Hollow Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> This is a one shot based on the relationship between Judy Hale and Jen Harding. In this world, Ted wasn’t killed by Judy, but by someone else. 
> 
> This is my first dead to me fanfic, please let me know what you think!

Judy has always had something missing from her life. Even when she had Steve, there was a hole that was eating her from the inside. She passed it off as the yearning to be a mother but never achieving it, but it was a lot deeper than that. 

She started painting as a means of catharsis, but everyone she painted had a hollow heart. She started off with painting children, reflecting that very need to be a mother. But her style started changing. She found herself starting to paint adults with hollow hearts. Though not knowing it herself, her paintings were a metaphor. A metaphor for the fact that she wasn’t receiving the love she deserved. A metaphor for the fact her heart was empty due to the years of disinterest and emotional manipulation from Steve. 

Judy loved Steve, but she put up with his constant degradation because she knew she’d “never find anyone after Steve because of her constant stream of flaws”, or however Steve liked to word it in the midst of an argument. Judy was harmless. Of course, she had her problems. She may have a screw or two loose. But she’s harmless. She just wants someone to love, and to be loved by someone with every fibre in their being. But, she gave up on that idea after Steve left her because of her inability to create an environment suitable for growing a child, as the obstetrician worded it. Judy couldn’t understand how Steve could be so heartless to leave her whilst she was at her worst, but she still loved him. She would run back to him the second he paid her an ounce of attention. 

Judy started attending a grief group that she thought might help, and met someone called Jen. Though never really giving her sexuality a second thought, Judy felt very strongly for Jen just 5 minutes into knowing her. She tried to push her feelings to the back of her mind because this was not the place to start a relationship, and she was trying to tell herself that she can’t just love someone and attach herself to them the second they pay her attention. Steve was very good at reminding her about how much she relies on others to get her through. 

“Sorry, can I give you a hug?” Judy asks Jen at the coffee table. 

“No.” Jen promptly replied. Judy’s heart sank, but she understands that maybe it was a little too forward to ask that to someone she’s only known for the better half of 5 minutes. 

But she persisted with trying to get to know her. She tried to interact with Jen as much as possible throughout the group, and bonded with her over the fact they both can’t sleep at night without their respective partners. 

Jen lost her husband in a hit and run accident, it was a tragedy. He left behind Jen and their two young sons. After hearing Jen’s story, Judy felt it was her duty to help her so, after the group session, Judy gave Jen her number and told her to call if she couldn’t sleep and Judy would keep her company. She wondered if Jen would catch on to her idea of flirting, but she was excited at the prospect of getting to know her better. 

Jen did call her that night. They spent hours on the phone talking about their love of wine and cookies, and joking around. Jen eventually fell asleep and Judy waited until she knew she was definitely unconscious before hanging up, as that is what Jen asked her to do. Their relationship only got stronger from then on. 

Judy moved into Jen’s husband’s studio quite quickly. She thinks it was because Jen took pity on her when she found out Judy was living in a care home because Steve had kept the house. Judy spent everyday with Jen and her two sons, Charlie and Henry, and she loved it. She’d make them breakfast, get them ready for school, tidy the house. Jen was loving having her around and, whether Jen knew it, or not, their relationship became very flirty, and Judy’s feelings only got stronger. 

That’s when they started to go to bed together. Judy was struggling with her mental health and would find herself crying a lot, and Jen would comfort her. Jen would hold her as she cried in her bed until Judy fell asleep, and Jen didn’t want to wake her, so stayed with her all night. It was starting to become a daily occurrence. They started to subtly touch each other every time they crossed paths. A brush of the arm here, a pinch of the elbow there. Jen even once put her hand on Judy’s arse and Judy didn’t know how to function for the next hour. They’d do everything together. Food shopping, watching movies, even just driving around casually. 

Jen accepted every flaw Judy had. And Judy accepted Jen’s. Jen was a hothead. Judy was the apologetic and anxious wreck. But somehow, they worked. Jen would rant and Judy would stand and wait for her to finish before laughing at her and telling her to calm down. They spent every waking moment joking around, even playfully insulting each other. Their dynamic was powerful, and hard to resist. There were several times when Judy caught Jen looking her up and down and licking her lips, but she tried not to let her imagination wander too far. Judy wanted Jen. But it was more than sexual for her. Jen could never reciprocate those feelings and Judy would be happy because she was content with spending every second just in her presence. Not that Judy didn’t want to jump Jen’s bones, of course... As long as Jen was near, Judy was okay. Jen would protect her for as long as needed. 

Having Jen in her life meant everything to Judy. Of course, they bickered, but this was the happiest either of them had been in a while. However, it wasn’t until a night out that Judy realised her feelings were being reciprocated by Jen. They got drunk. Really drunk. They danced together, they laughed together, they even cried. And as they were crying into each other’s arms, Jen asked if Judy would be her person. She of course accepted and squeezed Jen even tighter. It was the start of something beautiful for them. 

Judy moved out of Jen’s husbands’ studio and into the house. They would go to bed every night spooning. Jen the big spoon, Judy the little one. Their fingers were interlocked as much as possible. They whispered sweet nothings into each other’s ears as they made the boys’ school lunch. The boys weren’t told as to what was going on, but they knew, and they constantly made jokes about them. Jen and Judy were both beaming 24/7. They couldn’t keep away from each other, somehow even more than before. 

Judy was so happy. She felt herself going back to normal. Her heart was fixing itself every time she looked at Jen. Jen treated her with so much love and respect, everything she ever deserved. As things started going well, she turned the studio into a crafts room and Judy started up her hobby of painting again. 

But this time, she was whole. Her heart was fixed. She was happy. All because of Jen. 

And the hollow hearts she used to paint onto people became filled again.


End file.
